Space Force: A Waste of money

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The majority of us have seen movies where we’ve witnessed the inception of an era when fantasy collides with reality. The Star Wars-esque idea of a Space Force has come close to actualizing this fantasy and has recently been debated by different political parties.

Here’s what I think about this new possibility: there is a substantial amount of money being invested and called for in this program. Meaning that enlarging amount of money, our money, is being put into this idea; which in the near future means that America could possibly be in another deficit, except the current generation will be paying it off. In addition to that investment, we already have a branch of the Air Force that protects our satellites. Thus, concluding that our resources are being used up for no good, meaningful project.

According to the Center for a New American Security, the Trump administration is calling for an estimated $194 billion dollars. This 2019 budget request is an increase from 2018, around 10 percent actually.

And what about all the extra money set aside for when or if things don’t go as planned? Because almost everything that involves technology doesn’t go as planned. According to Forbes magazine, 80 percent of small startup businesses “crash and burn.” Now, I know that a branch of the military isn’t a business, but that’s exactly how a man like President Trump will approach it. Trump was a businessman before entering the political field. I’m not even sure he fully completed that transition. Due to that and due to experiencing his approach in political matters, we can predict he will be more geared towards business and the money aspect more than political betterment.

Use your imagination for a second. Think about a world where there is no more pollution, global warming issues are improving, diseases like cancer are being cured, everyone has access to an education and there is general healthcare for all. The money spend on Space Force could be spent to make this vision come true.

Poverty in the United States is ubiquitous. If not providing a solution to that issue, the least that could be done is giving those communities well-deserved housing and food. After all, nobody wants anyone to struggle through something like homelessness. The cause of homelessness and the more current issue of mass shootings are being attributed to mental health issues by some. Investing in, as well as acknowledging these issues is more effective and sufficient instead of disbursing money towards another military branch that, in my world, has no purpose.

That $12.5 billion dollars that went toward building Space Force could be used towards helping any of these issues.

Here is the root of the dilemma: with another program that accomplishes the same tasks, why should we spend more tax dollars and funding for another fruitless project?

A division of the Air Force is already tasked with defending our international space station and satellites. According to the Washington Post, $716 billion dollars have been authorized to be given as per the Senate request. There really is no need to waste billions of dollars on a redundancy in the interest of a potential possibility. Double that amount and the U.S. will be in another debt crisis.

Still aren’t sold? Back in 2014, many Americans were hit with an appalling crisis. The Flint water crisis, when the city of Flint, Michigan, was affected with obstacle after obstacle. The issue of leaving Flint residents with lead-contaminated, bacteria-filled water resulted in many deaths and damage to kids’ developing brains. According to the American Civil Liberties Union, one in 12 residents died within 18 months due to this occurrence. In addition, Newrepublic magazine stated that kids “have become increasingly bad at reading since the water crisis began in 2014.” The sad part is that this is still present. Solving this issue that affects our fellow peers is worth our tax dollars.

Whatever happened to the concept of a small government with little bureaucracy and regulation?

It’s hard to imagine the amount of time, effort and money that goes into managing all this spending. That’s precious tax dollars being spent.

Our history books talk about the arms and nuclear race. If we begin this Space Force, we might as well be inviting Russia, China, France and the United Kingdom to accompany or fight against us in space. We’d be creating the problem this Space Force is supposed to solve: defending U.S. spacecrafts in orbit from attacks by potential neighboring countries.

I will, however, give credit to this proposal in how it has fascinated everyone. The idea of coming up with a name and a logo decided by the American public is a fantastic political idea. It’s beneficial for the protection of our satellites and, of course, the prospects of more jobs and innovation.

The new space program Trump is pursuing will be a setback for the majority of citizens. From an increase in budget prices, to wasting our tax dollars on useless projects, this reeks of political failure.

I guess it comes down to this: do you want to see billions of dollars wasted on a potential problem, or would you prefer to see the citizens’ hard earned tax dollars at work for an exceptional cause? This money could be spent on a variety of things nationwide.

Simply imagine where we would be 10 years from now. College? Working? There is a variety of responses to this broad question. One certainty is that with Space Force becoming a reality, the vision of the numerous amount of other matters that are at a higher risk will face extinction. Another reality is that, us, newly college grads and beginners at new jobs will be compelled to fund this program, which has no relevance; it’s heartbreaking to think about.